Petalite Gemstone: Properties, Meanings, Value & More

Petalite is a tectosilicate mineral appearing naturally in monoclinic, tabular crystals. Is petalite natural? Yes. Petalite mineral is found naturally all over the world, though it doesn’t usually appear in gemstone form naturally. Its colorless varieties are often carved into impressive, faceted gemstones. 

Petalite’s rarity, white or colorless tone, and perfect cleavage put it on par with other semi-precious gemstones. 

Imagine a floor-to-ceiling window letting the sun’s rays into a room, illuminating every detail and reflecting an awesome shine along it’s smooth, clear surface. Petalite’s appeal is similar, as the gorgeous light refraction made possible by its transparency makes it a desirable centerpiece for pendants and earrings. 

Of course, that’s specific to the white and colorless petalite gemstones, the most valuable color options amidst the gray, yellow, and sometimes pink alternatives. 

Some brides even sport a petalite ring instead of a diamond, since the stone sparkles similarly to diamond. However, petalite stone requires a little extra care and maintenance (more on that later). 

Here at Gem Rock Auctions, you can find some of the rarest, shiniest, most coveted petalite gemstones around. You can bid on or buy gemstones directly from our vetted sellers at a fair price without the middle man. 

In this article, we’ll dive deep into the petalite properties, healing uses, and history; then, we’ll show you how you can start feeling the magic of petalite benefits today!

What is Petalite Gemstone?

Petalite is a colorless gemstone called the “Stone of the Angels” since its white color awakens feelings of purity and higher consciousness. It’s also a great zodiac stone for Leos, which isn’t a surprise. Who loves an attention-grabbing shine more than a proud Leo? 

Petalite Specifications & Characteristics

Petalite forms beside spodumene, tourmaline, and lepidolite. A member of the feldspathoid mineral family, petalite has a low thermal expansion rate, making it a popular player in the glass and ceramics industry. 

Petalite ceramics might look like pottery or dinnerware, or even small ceramic sculptures, as Namibian artisans craft animal sculptures out of brownish pink-petalite crystals.

Petalite is one of the main materials to extract lithium metal. Next time you look at the battery on your laptop or electric vehicle, remember lithium is a vital ingredient that’s often sourced from petalite!

The petalite formula is LiAl(Si4O10), which signifies lithium, aluminum, silicon, and oxygen. Petalite lithium is also used in glass enamel, paint, and aluminum-lithium alloys in the aerospace industry! 

Want to know more about petalite properties? Check out the specifications below:

• Color: Colorless, gray, white, yellow, brown, pink, sometimes with reddish or greenish tints

• Crystal structure: Monoclinic

• Luster: Vitreous, pearly

• Transparency: Translucent to transparent

• Refractive index: 1.50-1.52

• Gravity: 2.3-2.5

• Cleavage: Perfect; one direction

• Fracture: Conchoidal

• Luminescence: Sometimes orange

• Pleochroism: None

Petalite Meaning & History

Petalite has perfect cleavage, and its easy split is reminiscent of a flower’s petal: naturally beautiful yet delicate. 

The resemblance may explain petalite’s etymology, from the Greek petalos for petal. Like other white and colorless gemstones, petalite’s stone meaning encompasses the ascension and purity of a higher power — angels, chastity, and clarity of mind are all common associations for petalite. 

Petalite crystals are sometimes known as  “castorites,” named after Greek mythological player Castor. Castor was one of two twins and a brother to Helen of Troy — the most beautiful woman in the world and daughter of Zeus, god of the sky. You can see how petalite’s mythology connects well with its heavenly symbolism! 

Brazilian mineralogist Jose Bonifacio de Andrada first discovered petalite in the year 1800, and the stone was the original source of lithium. 

Next on the docket: what are petalite’s healing properties?

Petalite Healing Properties

Petalite is a great healing stone that awakens your connection with a higher power. When you feel connected with something bigger than yourself, you experience  greater purpose, an extra bounce in your step.

Let’s start with petalite’s benefits for our physical health. 

Physical Healing

Do you ever feel like the banality of day-to-day tasks and life brings you down? A lack of purpose might seem like an emotional issue, but the depression that comes with it can also bring some serious physical effects. Muscle tension arises from stress when you’re feeling down, as does insomnia and gastrointestinal issues like indigestion and constipation. 

Its de-stressing properties are also known to soothe tense muscles and bring relief to your intestines. Finally, petalite is thought to improve our eyesight, which has both physical and emotional connotations. 

Emotional Healing

Can you think of anything that channels more grace and strength than an angel? As celestial beings, angels have enough strength to combat darkness but the grace to do it with care and intention. The Stone of Angels brings us a similarly soft strength. 

Petalite helps you gather the courage to let go of past pain, dependence, and negative emotions. At the same time, it helps you do so in a way that still embraces compassion. If independence could be gentle yet present, petalite will help you feel it. 

Meditating with petalite helps you recognize the divine nature of life’s simple pleasures. Crystal healers purport that wearing a petalite pendant close to your heart helps you shed your negative lens and experience the magic of life again. 

Chakra Healing

Your chakras are your body's energy hotspots, which line up and work together to bring you emotional balance and physical health. 

The third-eye chakra is a pulsating energy center between your eyebrows. Out of all the chakras, this one helps you connect the most with your intuition, and is known to symbolize enlightenment. 

Have you felt like you’re unable to trust your instincts? Is nervousness keeping you from taking action? You may have a blocked third-eye chakra. Petalite is known to remove this blockage to push those negative feelings aside. 

Enhance your meditation practice by putting a petalite gem on your forehead. It might feel silly at first, but as you breathe in and out, visualize releasing all the noise that’s prohibiting you from hearing your inner voice and intuition. 

You might be wondering what to expect when it comes to the petalite gemstone price. We’ll cover that soon, but first, we’ll look at value factors that either heighten or lower a petalite gemstone’s value. 

Petalite Gemstone Properties

Petalite gemstones range quite dramatically in price, but three properties influence their value:

Color

Petalite appears in many different colors, like reddish and greenish-white, brown, yellow, pink, and blue. But the rarest and most desirable petalite color is clear like glass. Colorless petalite and yellow-clear varieties are usually the types faceted into gemstones.

You’ll commonly find petalite in pastel shades of pink and gray. These varieties are often cut into small cabochon stones and sold as pendants and earrings, or more often as a petalite tumbled stone.

Sometimes you’ll see some pretty blue petalite stones on the market. But is blue petalite rare as well? Not quite. Petalite doesn’t appear naturally in blue shades, so those stones you see are often treated to look that way.

What else influences petalite value? 

Cut

The rarest, colorless petalite stones are often faceted, a pleasure for lapidaries (gem-cutters) given petalite’s perfect cleavage. The result? A striking, clear gem that reflects light from all facets, displaying flawless shine. 

What’s better than one clear, faceted petalite gemstone? A bunch of them! Faceted, pear-shaped petalite beads often set the stage for a gentle yet bold bracelet. 

As mentioned above, you may find colored petalite fashioned into cabochons, but those are much cheaper than the colorless faceted gemstones. One more jewelry style is with raw petalite, sometimes wrapped in a copper wire. 

Finally, let’s take a look at petalite clarity. 

Clarity

Inclusions, or foreign material within a gemstone, often diminish its value. That remains true for petalite, as inclusion-free, transparent varieties are the most valuable.

Sometimes, you’ll notice tumbled pink petalite stones with black matrix inclusions, offering a hint of mystery to a bubble-gum pink aesthetic. Those are translucent at best and come at lower prices. 

Petalite Formation & Sources

Petalite forms within lithium-rich pegmatite rocks that host other minerals like tourmaline and spodumene. You’ll often find them naturally as white tabular crystals, with prismatic forms that resemble those of clear quartz and amethyst. 

Petalite can even transform into spodumene and quartz under certain conditions. Those conditions include high heat (500 degrees Celsius, or 932 degrees Fahrenheit), high pressure, and the presence of certain fluids."

Now, where is petalite found?

Mining Locations

Raw petalite is found all over the world, but the coveted colorless gemstones are more exclusive. Here are some major petalite mining locations and their corresponding petalite varieties:

• Sweden: The first petalite ever discovered was in the Swedish Uto Mines, nestled in pegmatite. 

• Namibia: Namibian petalite is known for having a pink pastel color, sometimes with contrasting black matrix inclusions. 

• Brazil: Some of the rarest, colorless petalite specimens are found in Brazil’s Cachoeira mine. 

• Afghanistan: The Nuristan province is home to colorless petalite with light orange fluorescence. 

Now, what is petalite worth if it’s colorless vs. colored?

Petalite Price & Value

As mentioned, the highest-value petalite stones are transparent, colorless, and faceted. For the rarest specimens, what’s the expected petalite gemstone price? It varies, but most colorless petalite will range between $4 and $550 per carat.  

For tumbled pink cabochon stones and other rough, colored petalite, you’re looking at a much more affordable price tag — between $2.50 and $5.00 per carat. 

Petalite Care and Maintenance

Petalite ranks a modest 6-6.5 on the Mohs scale, meaning it’s stronger than an opal but will scratch if it scrapes against morganite or quartz. Its fragility warrants protective settings for most petalite jewelry. 

But what about engagement rings? You might like the idea of petalite as a symbol of marriage, but you should first know how to care for it first. It doesn’t come close to the strength of other engagement stones like diamonds or sapphires, so it needs a little extra love to keep on shining its brightest. 

If it’s such a delicate stone, how do you clean petalite without damaging it? Can you wash petalite in warm water like other gemstones? 

Gem experts recommend using a soft warm cloth and warm water to clean petalite stones — only use a mild detergent on occasion. It’s best to store petalite away from other gemstones, ideally in a soft, velvet pouch. 

See the Light with Petalite!

Petalite gemstones offer a dreamy, celestial vibe to every piece of jewelry, whether it’s a glass-like faceted pendant or a handful of Namibian pink petalite stones. Enjoy the stone’s versatility for any outfit and heavenly healing properties by exploring our petalite for sale. 

At GemRockAuctions, we offer some of the rarest, most astonishing petalite gemstones on the market. So, are you ready to vibrate with petalite jewelry?

Buy petalite gemstones today!

Petalite